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A while ago I wrote that Risk and Technology are the same thing with the theme that both need the bank’s line of business leaders to be on board.  Then, last week, I spent a few days at a risk management conference and what astounded me is how many people work in risk management, and…

Now that many of the banks with some losses in the US sub-prime area have reported it may be a good time to look back at what has happened and then look forward to what is likely to happen over the next 6 to 12 months. Current Situation Looking back, I am glad to be…

Try this out and see if you can figure out how it works … a special for Halloween. 

Try this out and see if you can figure out how it works … a special for Halloween. 

Try this out and see if you can figure out how it works … a special for Halloween. 

Try this out and see if you can figure out how it works … a special for Halloween. 

For those of you with ten minutes to spare and access to YouTube, if  you want a good laugh or cry, then here’s the Bird & Fortune* guide to the credit crunch.  Brilliant!   * for our overseas colleagues, John Bird and John Fortune are viewed by many as being the best business comedians in…

As someone involved in predicting the future, it amuses me how often we get things wrong. You’ve heard all the quotes: "a worldwide market of five", Thomas Watson of IBM’s prediction for the global computer market back in 1953, or "640kb of memory is enough for everyone" from Bill Gates.  So, when you get one…

Interesting supplement in today’s Times newspaper on careers with an 8-page supplement on careers in Banking.   A few choice quotes: “Confidence in the world’s financial markets is shaky” “Lehman Brothers, UBS, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse have all announced redundancies” “Is now the worst time to consider a career in banking” Mmmm … sounds a…

London-based insurance firms have struggled, largely unsuccessfully so far, to work with each other through electronic channels. ACORD, the US insurance standards organization which has been expanding into international markets, appears to be the leader in driving standards, the key to electronic business, into the London market and its global affiliates. An ACORD-sponsored two-day forum…